Walter Mosley was a 35-year-old computer programmer when he enrolled in the graduate writing program at City College in 1987. Just three years later–while still a student–he  published “Devil in a Blue Dress,” the debut novel that established him as a new force in American fiction. This week–three decades and 60 books later–Mosley receives the National Book Foundation’s 2020 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. The lifetime achievement award—whose previous recipients include Toni Morrison, Edmund White, E.L. Doctorow and Norman Mailer—honors a literary career born and nurtured at CUNY. It’s a career that includes founding a program at CCNY to open doors for minorities in publishing, an industry long known for its lack of diversity. We talked with Mosley about his life, his work and his decades-long bond with CUNY. Related Links CUNY Congratulates Walter Mosley on NBF Honor About Mosley His Latest: The Awkward Black Man About the City College Publishing Certificate Program